A Change of Spark
by Omega-Em-Z-01
Summary: Could true love grow where hatred thrives? Knock Out never thought that something like this could happen to a mech like himself. Rated T
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, this is a new story that I'm trying out. I usually don't do stuff involving romance, but I thought that this would be really fun to do. I came up with the idea around the same time when I thought of Black Wolf. But I thought that it would be kinda cheesy, so I decided to ditch it. But as I thought about it more, it seemed like it could make a good story. **

**Anyway, this involves my favorite Decepticon, KNOCK OUT! I think he's one of the funniest characters because of his narcissistic personality and sense of sarcasm. Hope you enjoy it! **

**I do not own Transformers Prime **

A Change of Spark

Chapter 1

"Oh, scrap."

Knock Out had been working in the med bay and bumped his elbow against the table, leaving a small nick in his paint job. It was barely noticeable, but he frowned at it and reached for a buffer. It took less than a second before the nick was gone.

"Ah, much better."

Knock Out tended to live by a policy; if he noticed a flaw in his appearance, then everyone would notice until it was fixed. He walked by a small mirror and couldn't help but observe how stunning he looked. He loved the way the lights reflected off his paint job. Knock Out continued to stare at his reflection until someone at the hospital entrance interrupted his thoughts.

"Knock Out," it was Dreadwing, "I need a patch. Do you mind?"

There was a nasty looking blaster burn on his servo. He must have gotten caught in a firefight with the Autobots.

"Sure," said Knock Out, "Sit down."

Dreadwing sat on one of the berths while Knock Out got out his supplies.

"So, what was it this time?"

"We were searching for another Iacon relic that Soundwave decoded this morning," said Dreadwing, "But the Autobots got there first. They killed most of the troops that accompanied me."

"Well," asked Knock Out while he started treating the burn, "Did you manage to get hold of the relic?"

"No," replied Dreadwing, avoiding his gaze for a moment. Knock Out smiled to himself. He noticed that Dreadwing wasn't exactly the best at successfully completing missions for Megatron. He sometimes wondered why Megatron even chose Dreadwing to be his first lieutenant.

"There," Knock Out finished patching up Dreadwing's servo. Dreadwing looked at it pleasingly.

"Well, at least I don't look like you when you returned from your last relic expedition," Dreadwing laughed.

"Oh, don't even mention it," glowered Knock Out, "I was lucky enough to finish my detailing without Breakdown!"

"Whatever," Dreadwing walked out the door, leaving Knock Out to himself again. He shuttered at the memory of his last trip relic hunting. He had never felt so… dirty.

Realizing that he had already finished his work, Knock Out returned to his berth-room. It wasn't much. His berth comprised mostly of a bedframe, a computer, a few cabinets that held Energon rations, some extra medical supplies, and of course, a private cleaning station. He grabbed a cube of Energon and started munching on it. Knock Out used to share his berth with Breakdown, before he was killed. When Knock Out heard about his demise, he went into a very short depression. Breakdown had been his best friend for as long as he could remember, and loosing him was no different from loosing a blood brother. During his depression, Knock Out would consume small amounts of high grade. But after a while, Knock Out got over it and continued on with his life.

After he finished his cube, Knock Out decided to power down for a bit. Being a Decepticon medic _and_ scientist was taxing. His optics began to close when Megatron's image appeared on his computer.

"Knock Out," his optics snapped open at the sound of his master's voice.

"How may I serve you, my lord?" Knock Out quickly got up.

"We have discovered an unconfirmed Energon spike," said the warlord, "Assemble a team and investigate the situation."

Megatron's image disappeared from the screen. Knock Out vented tiredly.

"No rest for the weary."

* * *

_**Meanwhile, at the Autobot base… **_

"Excellent work," said Optimus, examining the new Iacon relic.

Team Prime had been successful during these last few endeavors to recover the remaining relics. Arcee and Bulkhead managed to retrieve this one.

"No problem, boss," said Bulkhead, "But what does it do?"

The relic was small and didn't look that intriguing. Optimus called Arcee over.

"Arcee," he tossed the relic to her, "Will you demonstrate?"

She attached the relic to her wrist, similar to the way the Phase Shifter attached to Bumblebee. In a few seconds, her whole frame became transparent and you could barely see her movements.

"Okay," said Bulkhead, "That's pretty slaggin' cool!"

"It's called a Shadow Cloak, Bulk," explained Arcee, "It's only used for stealth operations."

She took it off and reappeared within an instant. She handed it back to Optimus.

"This new relic may help us better achieve raiding Decepticon mines."

"If only we had a few more," pointed out Bulkhead.

"No offense, Bulkhead," said Arcee, "But I don't think you're quite the 'stealth' material."

He started laughing when the main computer started beeping loudly. Ratchet went over to examine it.

"Optimus," Ratchet called him over, "Our scanners have detected a starship within the solar system."

Everyone else came over.

"It's an Autobot identification signal," exclaimed Ratchet, "I will open up communications. Unknown vessel, this is Autobot Outpost Omega-1. Identify yourself."

There was a bit of static before someone spoke.

"Autobots?" it was a femme's voice, "I didn't figure I'd find friends way out here!"

Arcee's optics widened. She recognized the voice.

"Moonracer? Is that you?"

The femme's voice gasped, "Sissy! I can't believe it! What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?" Arcee's voice sound slightly more stern than excited, "I thought you were in the inner rim of the galaxy."

"You know me, 'Cee," said Moonracer in a somewhat sassy tone, "I can't stay in one place for more than a stellar cycle."

"You think you could get here soon?"

"Yeah! If you send some coordinates, I can be there in a few cycles."

The kids had come over from playing video games when they heard Arcee's expression.

"Who's Moonracer?" asked Jack.

"Moonracer," explained Arcee, "Is my younger sister."

"[I didn't know you had a sister,]" beeped Bumblebee. Arcee looked sternly at him and he dropped his gaze.

"Hmm, I'm not familiar with her background," said Optimus, "Arcee, can you verify her voice print."

Arcee gave him an 'are you serious' look.

"Very well," he said, "We will send landing coordinates. Safe travels, Moonracer."

The communication link ended. Arcee started getting a big grin on her face. Bulkhead noticed and patted her on the back.

"You excited?" he asked.

"Of course," said Arcee, finally showing her excitement, "I haven't seen her in mega-cycles!"

"Wow," said Miko, "We're gonna get a new bot here! Let's get the party started!"

* * *

Knock Out had returned to his berth once more. The Energon spike was an untapped mine that happened to surface during an earthquake. Nothing really exciting there. That's all the Decepticons seemed to do! Look for mines, collect Energon, process it, and nothing ever seemed to change! Searching for the Iacon relics had stirred up some excitement, but it usually took Soundwave a while to decode each one. So Knock Out felt like he was doing the same thing every single day.

He looked in the mirror that hung on the wall opposite of his berth. His frame still looked as perfect as ever. He sat down on his berth, hoping to finally get some sleep. He heard that Dreadwing and some of the Vehicons were tracking a starship that had entered Earth's atmosphere.

"I wonder if Dreadwing will actually complete this one," he thought to himself. Knock Out chuckled at the thought.

While starting to lie down, he checked the screen on his monitor one more time. Seeing that nothing was popping up, Knock Out laid flat on his back and let his heavy optics close.

"Finally."

**There you have it! I would like to say that Moonracer isn't my OC. She's one of the older female transformer characters. I noticed that she only made one appearance in Generation 1, but she wasn't really used again. So, I thought it'd be neat to bring her up, since I haven't read any stories with her in it. Please leave comments! Laters! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry I haven't written in a while. I've been pretty busy with school stuff and haven't had much time to write. But I'm trying to make up for it now. Please enjoy! **

A Change of Spark

Chapter 2

"Knock Out!"

Knock Out woke up with a start. His internal clock indicated that he had been recharging for only a couple of groons. He groaned and sat up on his berth.

"What is it, Dreadwing?"

"Lord Megatron wants you on the bridge," said the blue Seeker, "Now."

Knock Out got off of his berth, checked in the mirror for any scratches or nicks, and made his way to the command center. As he walked, two Vehicons were talking to themselves. They said something about an Autobot prisoner and how it was and "easy capture". Looks like Dreadwing was successful for once. As Knock Out came into the command center, he saw Megatron standing at the main controls with his servos clasped behind his back. The warlord turned to face him.

"Ah, Knock Out," said Megatron in his raspy voice, "I assume that you've heard of our success in capturing an Autobot."

"Only bits and rumors."

"It would seem that Optimus had been awaiting the arrival of a new recruit," Megatron snickered, "He should've waited on sight. If we hope to extract any information from our prisoner, then we must keep her alive."

Her? The prisoner was a femme.

"Patch her up so she doesn't leak her spark out," Megatron smiled at Knock Out deviously, "No real need to be gentle."

Knock Out smirked. He certainly wasn't planning to show any sympathy for the Autobot scum.

"If it pleases you, my liege," Knock Out bowed and dismissed himself. He went back to the med bay to get a few supplies, just a bandage and welder, and headed for the detention center. Knock Out couldn't wait to see what Megatron had planned for the Autobot.

The detention center was Knock Out's least favorite place to visit. It was unkempt, dirty, and smelled most of the time. The air was always stuffy and the humidity was worst here than in any other part of the ship. Knock Out made a mental note to run through the cleaner when he got back to the med bay.

Two Vehicons were standing in front of one of the prison cells. They moved to the side and opened the cell door when they saw Knock Out. Knock Out walked into the cell while the door closed behind him. At first, he didn't see any prisoner. Then he looked down to see the small, shivering, green frame of the Autobot femme. She was huddling in the corner while Energon leaked from a wound in her servo, creating a small puddle beneath her. The femme looked up at Knock Out and gasped. Knock Out froze in his tracks. Her faceplate was smooth and glinted in the limited light. Though the femme's optics were filled with fear, they were huge and breathtakingly beautiful. They continued to stare at each other until Knock Out shook his helm and kneeled down next to her. The femme tried to scoot away, but there was nowhere else for her to hide.

"I-it's okay," Knock Out was surprised at his own sentiment for the prisoner. He started to reach for her servo when she yelped and slapped him across the faceplate. Knock Out jumped back a little in surprise. His cheek stung and he could feel Energon dripping down it. Knock Out could feel his rage burning deep inside him. He hated it when any part of him, especially his faceplate, was scratched. Without thinking, he clenched his fist and pulled it back. The femme shrunk and held her servos up submissively. Knock Out's expression softened. He didn't mean to scare her, more than she already was.

"I-I'm sorry," Knock Out kneeled down again, "Look, I'm just here to patch you up."

The femme gave him a confused look.

"I'm a medic. If you don't let me treat your servo, you could loose it."

The femme looked at her leaking servo, and then slowly held it out to Knock Out. There was a deep cut running down her forearm while Energon kept flowing from it. As Knock Out examined the wound, he could feel the femme shaking. He tried to ignore it while patching up the cut. He could almost feel her optics staring at him. In a few minutes, the cut was clean and sealed. The femme examined it with wide optics. Knock Out collected his supplies and started heading for the door.

"Thank you."

He turned upon hearing the timid voice. He looked down at the femme, who was now watching him with her huge optics.

"It will probably be the last bit of kindness you will see," Knock Out wasn't trying to sound snide, but it was true. Once Megatron was done interrogating her, the femme would surely be terminated.

Fear had reentered the femme's optics, but she spoke calmly, "What is your name?"

The question was strange compared to the situation, but Knock Out still answered, "My name is Knock Out. Don't mess with that patch. I'm not planning to redo it."

Knock Out left the prison cell and made his way back to the med bay. All that was on his processor was the Autobot femme. Knock Out couldn't deny that she was pretty, but he tried to shake it out of his mind. For Decepticons, Autobot femmes were good for only two things: either prisoner or pleasure. But in the end, they always ended up offline. Even though the femme was his enemy, Knock Out couldn't help but feel sorry for her. From what he knew with his previous encounters with Autobot femmes, a few of which being with the one here on Earth, they didn't back down so easily without a fight. But the prisoner looked as if she was willing to surrender with little hesitation. Clearly, she was different.

These thought remained in Knock Out's processor until he finally laid down for recharge. He didn't even bother to run through the cleaner or treat the scratch on his faceplate. But even in recharge, his thoughts were filled with the same green femme that he was supposed to hate. Knock Out never had so much trouble falling into recharge.

**I'll try to have the next chapter up much sooner. Hope you enjoyed the new chapter. Leave a comment or send me a PM. I love reading those. Laters! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Told you guys I'd have the next chapter out sooner! I didn't think that my romance story would be very popular, but people on here really seem to like it! A special thanks goes out to all other authors who have favorited and followed my story. Your support means a lot to me! Enjoy the new chapter! **

A Change of Spark

Chapter 3

"I'm such an aft-head! I never should've told her to come!"

Team Prime's attempts to calm Arcee down had all ended in failure. The minute Moonracer's ship landed at the coordinates, they arrived just in time to see the Decepticons drag her through their own Ground-Bridge. That had been an hour ago, and Arcee's temper had not faltered since.

"Arcee," Optimus was beginning to grow tired of her self-blaming, "Please calm down. We will do our best to locate Moonracer."

"And how long do you suppose that will take?" Arcee's optics were flickering with sparks of red. No one had ever seen her this angry.

"The Cons could be torturing her as we speak," Arcee mood was beginning to change from angry to paranoid, "She could be-"

"[Arcee,]" Bumblebee grabbed hold of her shoulders to get her attention, "[You need to get a hold of yourself! If you think that we're not trying to find Moonracer, then you're dead wrong. I give you my word; we will find her. But you need to calm down and cool your thoughts.]"

Arcee yanked Bumblebee's servos off her shoulders and stormed off to her berth. No one bothered to stop her. Jack was watching the whole event from the balcony in front of the main computer. He knew that Arcee could be over protective at times, but he had never seen it at this kind of level. Without hesitation, he followed Arcee to the back where her berth was located. She didn't even seem to notice Jack until she got to her berth.

"Oh, Jack," Arcee's expression softened when she saw him, "I'm… sorry."

"It's not your fault," said Jack, "But I had to ask. Why were you so upset? I mean I know that you care about every one of us. But you've never really acted this way."

Arcee let out a sad vent, "Jack, Moonracer is the only member of my family that I have left. She doesn't believe in fighting and refuses to learn how to defend herself. I have done everything in my power to keep her from harm. But the problem is, she loves to go out and explore, and sometimes it's been hard for me to keep track of her."

Arcee sat down against the wall. Jack sat next to her.

"When our parents died, I swore to myself that I wouldn't loose her to anyone. I've always been so careful, but now…"

Arcee's helm dropped and she closed her optics. Jack placed his hand on top of hers.

"She has a good big sister," Jack smiled, "Don't worry, Arcee. We'll find her."

Jack's words of encouragement reminded Arcee of how lucky she is to have friends like him. But the sadness of loosing Moonracer didn't leave her spark.

Knock Out awoke from recharge, finally feeling better. His dreams were filled with the same green femme from last night. He couldn't help but want to know more about her. What was her name? How did she get here? Why was she so timid? But Knock Out knew that those questions would never be answered. He didn't know if Megatron would begin interrogations today or if he already started, but it was only a matter of time before the femme would perish.

Knock Out sat up from his berth and walked by the mirror. He almost fainted dead away. The scratch on his faceplate was beginning to scar and his paint job was corroding ever so slightly. He quickly ran through the cleaner, buffed up his paint job, and sealed the scratch on his cheek. Knock Out wished that he had taken care of it sooner. There was a small line that ran across his cheek. Even though it was barely noticeable, it made Knock Out more annoyed than ever. Among the Decepticons aboard the _Nemesis_, Knock Out was undoubtedly the most handsome. The Vehicons often called him narcissistic, but he preferred to call it "being self-conscious of his own appearance".

Knock Out left his berth room and started heading towards his lab. On the way, he passed by the detention center. Normally, he would've kept walking, but something made him stop dead in his tracks. Screaming. It echoed through the halls and made Knock Out's very spark shiver. He had heard many terrible things in his life, but none of them ever really made an impact on him. But the sound of the green femme's screams told him that she didn't deserve this. He couldn't help but look back at the detention center entrance.

"Knock Out."

The voice in front of him made him jump a little, but Knock Out vented when he realized that it was Dreadwing.

"You okay?" asked Dreadwing, "You've seemed kind of jumpy lately."

"I'm fine, Dreadwing." Knock Out lied, "I've just had some trouble recharging."

"Well, good luck with it now. The longer Megatron grills this hag, the longer the rest of us will be recharge deprived," Dreadwing chuckled.

Knock Out laughed nervously, "Yeah. I, uh, I-I should… um… I should go. I, uh, have some extra s-stuff to take care of."

He quickly walked past Dreadwing and continued on to his lab. He could still hear the femme's screams through the halls. Secretly, he wished that he hadn't agreed to what Dreadwing said.

**Okay, I know that this was a bit of a shorter chapter, but there will be more coming! Leave a comment! Laters! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Finally! Now we're gonna get into some good stuff. This chapter has some important things going on, so you'll want to pay attention because they'll be important later. Enjoy!**

A Change of Spark

Chapter 4

The femme's screams had stopped after several days. It had been a relief for most on the ship, but Knock Out was beginning to wonder if she was even alive. He hadn't recharged ever since the screaming began, not because it kept him up, but he felt somehow responsible for it.

"Get a hold of yourself," Knock Out spoke to himself in the mirror, "You didn't capture her. You aren't conducting the interrogations. You have no part in this!"

But the feeling didn't go away. He looked at the small scar on his cheek. He had the feeling that, whatever the outcome may be, it would be a constant reminder of the first time he laid eyes on her. Knock Out shook his helm and looked away from the mirror. This was so sappy! Why should he care about his enemy who was going to be offlined at any moment? He wouldn't be surprised if Megatron told him to offline her himself!

As if on queue, Megatron's image appeared on the monitor in Knock out's lab.

"How may I serve you, Lord Megatron?"

"Our efforts to extract any information on the Autobots have failed," growled Megatron, "I command you to use the cordical psychic patch on our prisoner. There will be no place left to hide."

Megatron's image disappeared and Knock Out stood there with wide optics. A cordical psychic patch? This was exactly the last thing he wanted to do with the femme. It felt worst than the idea of being forced to offline her! But he knew that he couldn't disobey his master's orders, so Knock Out brought out the supplies needed and waited.

* * *

It was cold and dark in the prison cell. Moonracer's servos were bound behind her back and she was sitting in the middle of the cell with her helm slumped over. She had lost track of how many cycles it had been since she was taken prisoner. Every part of her frame hurt. The Decepticons had given her nothing but pain since she arrived. Well, most of them.

The red mech called Knock Out that had repaired her servo didn't seem as bad. Granted, he almost hit her when she slapped him, but he had a strange sense of kindness for a Decepticon. He even apologized for his action. Moonracer couldn't even deny that he was devilishly handsome. His frame reflected every speck of light there ever was and his voice was pretty sexy.

But it was no doubt that he would eventually hurt her. Moonracer knew that all Decepticons were the same, no matter what. When they weren't interrogating her, Moonracer thought about her sister. She missed Arcee so much her spark ached. It used to bug her when Arcee would watch her every hour, but she knew that her sister cared more about her than anything else in the universe. Arcee must be worried out of her processor right now.

Moonracer heard the door to her cell open. She didn't even look up as two guards grabbed her servos and started dragging her.

_They're going to kill me,_ she thought to herself, _I just know it._

But instead of taking her to another interrogation room, the guards brought Moonracer to a large laboratory. They took off her cuffs and forced her down onto an examination berth, where she was strapped down once more. She looked up and saw the familiar figure of the red mech. Something long was attached to the back of his helm. He started walking towards her holding the other end of the thing in his servo, which sparked with electricity. Moonracer suddenly grew alarmed and began to struggle.

"Keep whatever that thing is away from me!"

The red mech ignored her pleas and attached the thing to the back of her helm. Instantly, her helm was struck with pain. The last thing she saw was the red mech's pure red optics. But they were tinged with something she didn't expect: regret. Then, there was nothing.

* * *

Knock Out felt his subconscious travel through the patch and into the green femme's brainpan. He didn't exactly know what to expect. Every brainpan had a different way of interpreting the subconscious mind. They were often times places that the individual visited often or held great importance to them. What Knock Out saw was not what he expected at all.

A ship. He was inside the cockpit of a spaceship. It was small and probably intended for no more than two or three passengers. The cockpit was untidy and data pads were scattered all over the floor and dash.

Knock Out snickered, "Even a Vehicon could come up with something better than this."

The door leading off the ship opened and Knock Out walked through it. He was nearly blinded by the intense light as he stepped outside. His optics adjusted and he gasped. Everywhere he looked, there was beautiful forestry and majestic mountains as far as the optic could see. Sweet smelling flowers covered the ground and strange birds flew through the air. He looked in front of him and saw the green femme. She was examining and large flower that had grown from a small bush. She smiled as her digits gently brushed the petals. Knock Out couldn't help but stare. It had been hard to get a good look of her back in the detention center, but her frame was slim and sparkled in the sunlight. Her huge optics shone brightly and her smile was breathtaking. Knock Out felt weak for a moment, but quickly regained his thoughts. He had a job to do.

He started walking over to the femme. She didn't seem to notice him. Knock Out watched as she put one digit up to her audio receptor.

"Yes?" she spoke into her com link.

"_Moonracer?"_ Knock Out realized that it was the Autobot Arcee speaking, _"Where are you? I can't place you anywhere on Cybertron." _

"Maybe that's because I'm on Regulon-6."

"_Again?"_ Arcee sounded annoyed.

"I can't help it, sissy. It's so beautiful here," the femme continued to stroke the flower. Knock Out came up right behind her, but his presence went on unnoticed.

Arcee vented, _"Alright. But please be careful, Moonracer." _

The femme groaned, "I'll be find, Arcee. I'll be back soon."

The femme dropped her servo and continued examining the flower. Knock Out lifted his servo up to the back of her helm and watched it sink into her helm as he scanned her memory banks.

"For Primus' sake," Knock Out said to himself, "Where hasn't this femme been?"

He continued to search for anything related to the Autobots, but came up empty. She didn't know anything about the location of the Autobot base. All of the interrogations had been in vain, and Megatron would not be pleased.

Knock Out removed his servo from the femme's helm. Once he delivered this news to Megatron, the femme would be terminated on the spot. Now Knock Out felt completely responsible for her soon-to-be death. He stumbled back a little and the femme turned to face him.

"You?" her smile disappeared instantly, "What are you doing here?!"

Knock Out noticed that the plant life began to wilt and die. He felt a sudden pain of guilt and quickly returned to his own mind. The familiar sight of his lab made him vent in relief.

"Well? What information could you retrieve?"

Knock Out jumped at the sound of Megatron's voice. The warlord must have come in while Knock Out was inside the femme's processor. He removed the cord from his helm and the femme regain consciousness. She flinched at the sight of Megatron.

"I find myself in need of good news, Knock Out," growled Megatron, "What did you find?"

Knock Out hesitated for a moment. "There… There was no information regarding the whereabouts of the Autobot base."

Megatron vented in frustration.

"Then we have one less thing to take care of," he aimed his cannon at the femme.

"My liege, wait," Knock Out held up his servo in protest.

"What do you want now?"

"I-uh," Knock Out was caught off guard, "Such, uh, opportunities like this seldom arise. If I may, I have another use for her in mind."

_Devious, _Knock Out thought to himself, _Look devious and sound sparkless. _

"I grow tired of your prattle, Knock Out. What other use could this wretch have for you?"

"Why, for my own pleasure, my lord," Knock Out's spark was beating rapidly.

Megatron rolled his optics, "I never pegged you for being one to consider interfacing as a means of entertainment."

He looked over at the femme, "But I will allow it this once. See to it that she is still terminated."

Megatron walked out of the room, leaving Knock Out alone with the green femme. He looked at her again. Tears were beginning to surface in her huge optics as she tried to break free of her bonds. Knock Out looked down in disbelief.

_What did I just say? _

**Ta da!** **I hope you guys like how I did the cordical psychic patch scene. I figured that's how memories and data would be stored because it is going through the person's personal history. It seemed to make sense. **

**My dad pointed out that some elements of this story are very similar to **_**Romeo and Juliet. **_**I didn't even realize it and when I did, I thought it was kind of funny. I am planning to mention it in later chapters, that's why I thought it was kind of funny that a lot of things are fairly similar. Hope y'all enjoy the new chapter. I'll have another one out soon. Laters! **


	5. Chapter 5

**I am so so so so sorry for the wait! It's been hard for me to find the inspiration to write anything lately. I'm gonna try really hard to make up for it. Enjoy! **

A Change of Spark

Chapter 5

"Let go of me, you pervert!"

Knock Out had only grab hold of her wrist to remove the bonds. The green femme struggled as hard as she could to try and get away from him.

_What was I thinking?_ Knock Out thought to himself. He didn't actually want to assault her, but he couldn't think of another reason why Megatron shouldn't terminate her. To be honest, it was the only idea that Knock Out knew would work.

The femme writhed in fear and kept screaming. There was no way Knock out was going to get her somewhere safe in this state. He quickly ran over to a small table with syringes lined up in a neat pile. He took one of them and filled it with a greenish liquid. He walked back over with the syringe in his servo.

"Stop! Stop it!" The femme tried to rip her servo away from Knock Out as he poked the needle in her arm. Instantly, the femme's screams softened and she slowly relaxed. In a few seconds, she was lying unconscious on the medical berth. Knock Out deactivated her bonds and detached the cordical psychic patch from her helm. He covered his optics with his hand.

"What am I going to do?" he said to himself.

He looked at the femme once more. Biting his lower lip, Knock Out took her in his arms and carried her out of his lab.

* * *

Perhaps if she hadn't struggled while the needle was in her arm, Moonracer wouldn't have felt so sore.

It felt like it had been hours since she had moved from her current position. To be honest, whatever was in that syringe gave Moonracer the best recharge she had in days. She almost didn't want to online her optics. But as she shifted her weight to her side, they snapped open immediately.

Instead of waking up in a prison cell, she found herself lying on a soft bed in a large berth room. There was a computer screen, cabinets full of Energon, a cleaning station, a bedside table, and a few picture frames hanging on the wall.

"Oh, sweet holy Primus," Moonracer gasped. This had to be the red mech's berth room! Moonracer began to panic as she stood up. She ran over to the door. Locked! She tried looking around to room, hoping to find a different opening. There was nothing! Moonracer's breathing became rapid as she paced around the room. What if she…?

The sound of the door opening interrupted her thoughts. Moonracer watched in horror as the same red mech entered the room. He froze when his optics met hers. Without thinking, Moonracer grabbed the closest thing to her servo and threw it at him. The mech held up his servos in defense as Energon cubes and medical instruments were hurdled at him.

"Hey! Stop! Cut it out!" But Moonracer didn't stop until there was nothing left to throw. She stood up on the bed and pinned herself against the wall. Energon started pouring from her optics.

"Stay away from me!"

The red mech just stood there with his servos held up. He looked more shocked than anything else. Moonracer couldn't understand why he wasn't attacking her. He was the one who said that he wanted to interface with her. Her brow bent into a confused V-shape as he slowly bent down and picked up an Energon cube.

"Will you calm down?" he asked in a slightly annoyed tone, "I didn't really mean what I said earlier."

"What?"

"I'm…" the mech vented, "I'm not like that at all. I just couldn't think of a different way to… get you out of there."

He held out the cube to her. Moonracer examined it like a skittish deer, and then looked up at his optics. They were pure red like any Decepticon's, but his were almost calming. Sort of like the red color one might find in a slowly burning hearth. Still shaking, Moonracer got off the bed and took the cube from his servo. It looked delicious, but she didn't eat it right away. Without moving, she watched him pick up the other Energon cubes and medical tools.

"I…" said the mech, "Apologize if you took it the wrong way."

Moonracer thought for a moment, "Well, considering the fact that I didn't know your intentions, of course I would take it that way."

The mech stopped for a moment and chuckled, "I was hoping to tell you immediately after Megatron left, but you sort of… well, you know."

He stood up and put the other cubes and tools back in their respective places. When he turned to face Moonracer once more, they both froze. For a moment, all of the tension in the room seemed to dissipate. Moonracer was beginning to believe that he was telling the truth. If he had wanted to hurt her, he probably would've done it by now.

"I…" The mech started to say something, but his optics left Moonracer's gaze and looked down, "Your servo."

Moonracer looked down at her mending servo. The patch that had previously held it together was broken and Energon was leaking from the wound. The mech grabbed a small welder next to him.

"Here," he said, "Let me."

He reached out his hand, but Moonracer pulled her servo closer to her frame. Maybe he was telling the truth about his intentions and maybe he wasn't, but he was still a Decepticon. And he was the one who had been rooting around in her processor.

"As I said once before," stretching his hand out just a little more, "If you don't let me fix it, you could lose it."

The mech sat down on the bed and patted the spot next to him. Moonracer sat at a reasonable distance from him so he could work. Just like in the prison cell before, she watched his every move. She could guess that he knew she was watching him, but that didn't seem to distract him from his work. In almost no time flat, the patch was repaired and the wound had ceased leaking. The mech set the welder aside and turned to Moonracer. Once again, their optics locked gazes. She didn't know how long it lasted or why it happened again, but one thing was strangely certain. Moonracer couldn't look away. It wasn't that she didn't have the power to look away, though it might have been partially that, but it felt like she didn't want to. It wasn't the feeling of fear or danger that compelled her to keep from looking away. It was something else Moonracer couldn't place.

At the exact same time, both of them turned away and broke the gaze.

"I… uh," the mech struggled to find the right words to say, "Have some… other things I need to do."

He stood up from the bed and walked to the door. Before he walked out, he turned to Moonracer one last time.

"It would be best for you to… remain here."

Moonracer nodded in agreement. But before the mech could walk out the door, she spoke.

"Thank you again, Knock Out."

Without turning again, he stopped and said, "You're welcome, Moonracer."

Moonracer's spark began beating rapidly as he walked out. Knock Out had learned her name.

**Hehe, I've been waiting forever for this scene to come out! I promise that I'll have the next chapter out **_**a lot **_**sooner. I apologize again for the wait. Have a great start of the summer! Laters! **


	6. Chapter 6

**You see? I kept my promise and I intend on keeping it. **** I was really surprised. My viewer ratings for this story have risen up 250 people since I posted the last chapter. I'm so glad y'all are enjoying it! In this chapter, a rather famous Vehicon will make an appearance and Knock Out's old personality will resurface. Let me know what you think! **

A Change of Spark

Chapter 6

There was one word that could easily describe what had just happened. Awkward.

As soon as he closed the door behind him, Knock Out decided to recharge in his lab from now on. Mainly for the courtesy of Moonracer, but also a little for his own well-being. She had been perfectly fine with hurdling sharp medical instruments at him before. One could only imagine what she would do to him in his sleep if she felt threatened. The thought made Knock Out cringe.

It must have been midday in Earth time and Knock Out still had work to finish. As he walked down the halls back to his laboratory, he tried to ignore the quiet, but noticeable conversations the Vehicons were having about him. Rumors always spread like wildfire on this warship. But to be honest, Knock Out didn't really care so long as no one knew the _real _truth.

When he got back to his lab, there were still things scattered around from before. Computers were still on and tools and data pads were scattered across tables.

"Just one assistant," Knock Out grumbled to himself, "That's my only wish around here. Just a little hand here and there and everything would be so much easier."

After cleaning everything up, Knock Out went back to monitor energy signatures. And, surprise-surprise, there was nothing new coming up on the scanners. He glanced over at a nearby mirror and gasped. Scratches and dents were covering the paint job on his servos, chassis, and shoulders. That glitch Moonracer had ruined his paint from throwing scalpels and drills at him! Knock Out felt his rage increasing, but he forced himself to cool down.

"This can be fixed," he told himself, "It's… not… a… big… _deal_."

Big deal or not, his paint job still looked ugly. He grabbed the closest buffer and began restoring his paint to its original brilliant sheen. He was almost done when he heard someone step in. He turned to see a Vehicon standing at the entrance with a leaking servo.

"Oh, great," Knock Out said in disgust, "You again."

The Vehicon's name was Steve. Steve was always coming in with injuries from working with the engines or working in the Energon mines. He was a natural klutz and an accident waiting to happen.

"Sorry," Steve said, "The drill was on and I wasn't paying attention."

"No, I'm sure you weren't," Knock Out said in a snide manner, "Sit down."

Steve sat down on one of the nearby berths while Knock Out brought over his medical kit. About half of his wrist cables were sliced open and part of his arm was covered in cuts. Nothing Knock Out couldn't fix, but it really made him wonder how stupid someone could get.

It took a little while to reconnect the cables in Steve's wrist, but everything else was easy to repair. Once he was done, Knock Out gathered his supplies and got up to put them away. He was about to tell Steve he could go when he heard something fall onto the ground. He turned to see a table lying on its side with tools scattered all around it. Steve was standing right next to it, completely frozen.

"You incompetent glitch-head!" Knock Out shouted, "Look at the mess you've made!"

"Sorry," said Steve. He started picking up the tools.

"No, no, stop," Knock Out shooed him away, "Go before you make things worse."

He heard the Vehicon walk out in haste. Out of everyone on this ship, Steve had to be the most annoying. Well, actually Airachnid was, but she didn't count anymore since she was no longer a Decepticon, and no longer _on _the ship.

"Is it true?" Knock Out heard a voice say. He looked to see Steve still at the entrance.

"What?" said Knock Out, acting like he didn't know what he meant.

"What everyone has been talking about. With you and the prisoner."

That did it.

"GET OUT!" Knock Out yelled at the top of his voice. He grabbed an empty container and threw it at the Vehicon. It shattered against the wall where the trooper was formerly standing.

"I'm surprised you had the wits about you to scram, dumb-aft!" He yelled into the corridors. A few other Vehicons were stopped walking and stared at Knock Out. He went back inside his laboratory to finish cleaning up the rest of the tools. Once it was done, Knock Out returned to the mirror to finish his buffing. There was just one scuff left on his fore-helm. As he reached to fix it, his optics fell to the small scar on his faceplate. The same one that Moonracer had given him. His thoughts immediately went to her.

"Why does this keep happening to me?" he said to himself. It seemed like every time he even remotely thought of her, she would cloud his thoughts and refuse to leave.

"Maybe I have a virus or something," he wondered. He touched the scar lightly. It would probably disappear if he tried to buff it up now, but he didn't. It wasn't that he couldn't. It was more like…

He didn't want to.

**Well, that was a little shorter than expected. Regardless, I like the way it turned out. **

**For the record, I do not own Steve. I've seen him a lot in other stories and some Transformers memes. But I am curious to who does. I'll give out Energon cookies to whoever can tell me who Steve belongs to. Officially. Anyway, leave a review on what you think of the new chapter! Laters! **


	7. Chapter 7

**I formally apologize for the elongated delay. I probably have about a thousand excuses, but I won't trouble you with them now. I would however like to say thank you to all of my readers and reviewers. And a special thanks to The Prime Writer for the inspiration :) Enjoy.**

A Change of Spark

Chapter 7

It would've been smart for Knock Out to have his laboratory available for recharge in case something like this ever happened. But since to scenario like this had ever come up before, it was irrelevant to think about that.

The medical berth he used to recharge for the past few nights was hard and cold. When he finally woke up, he was feeling sore and stiff. His frame creaked as he stood up and he could feel his wires tingling, crying out for him to return to recharge. Knock Out tried to ignore it as much as possible, but it proved to be futile as he sat back down in an exhausted heap. As he rubbed his optics, he kept thinking about the other night.

It was official that everyone on the ship now knew about his little "scheme" with Moonracer. Even when they thought he wasn't in audio range, Knock Out could still hear the little spark stabbing rumors about him. How he was a pervert, a freak, and an abnormality in nature itself. It had been a long time since Knock Out could remember that words like that could hurt. He thought that he could easily ignore it. He had done it all the time before. But this was different. This reached down to his very core.

Separating his mind from this ordeal, Knock Out stood up once more to return to his work. Lately, he had been revisiting the Synthetic Energon project. The little droplet he managed to secure from the Autobot medic Ratchet was more than enough to being his research. He had managed to break down the formula into its basic components, but he had yet to begin reproducing the Synth-En to test its viability as an alternative energy source. But even on paper, the results appeared surprisingly stable. Knock Out would begin reconstructing the formula today.

He reached to grab the container he had ready to prep his equipment only to find empty air. He was sure that he left it there the other day. But then the memory of throwing an identical container and the Vehicon the other day resurfaced.

Knock Out knew that he had plenty of backups in his berth-room, but he planned to use that as his last resort. There weren't any in his lab storage, nor in the med bay. There didn't seem to be any empty ones in the other laboratories either. In short, there was a complete shortage of empty containers on the _Nemesis_.

Knock Out groaned. He really didn't want to have to go back there again. Back to Moonracer and be stuck in that cloud of awkwardness. But there was really nothing else he could work on at the moment, so he didn't really have a choice.

On the way back to his berth-room, Knock Out felt like he was in one of those human spy movies. He didn't want _anyone_ to know that he was going back there again. But it wasn't the rest of the crew's opinion that had him on edge. He wondered, no… he _feared _what would happen when he stepped into his berth. Moonracer had plenty of time to figure out what to do if he returned. Throwing things at him without thinking was bad enough, but what if she planned to wait behind the door and stab him in the back as he walked in?!

"Okay, stop it!" Knock Out told himself, "I'm just going to walk in, grab a few containers, and walk out. Simple as that."

Oh, if only it were that simple.

Knock Out had finally reached the door to his berth without any interruptions. Before he entered, he looked around to make sure no one was coming. Everything was clear. But now Knock Out faced an even bigger problem; how exactly was he going to proceed?

_I can't just barge in again, _he thought, _but I can't stand out here forever. _

Unsure what to do, Knock Out knocked quietly on the door. As he expected, there was no response from the other side. She may not even be awake. As he opened the door, Knock Out poked his helm in first. The idea of Moonracer waiting behind the door for him was still stuck in the back of his processor. But instead of being behind the door, Knock Out saw her poking through the wires of his computer. She must have heard the knock from before, because she was frozen in place. She turned slowly to meet his gaze. Knock Out stepped inside, but didn't dare break his gaze.

"I, uh, I just n-," Knock Out stammered slightly, "Needed to grab a few things…"

He started to walk to the right, avoiding any optic contact with her. Before he could come within a few microns of his storage, he was shoved against the wall and pinned there.

"Whoa, what-?" Knock Out was stunned at the surprise attack. Moonracer was still looking at him straight in the optics, but hers were now filled with determination instead of fear.

"I want answers," she demanded, "Now!"

"You know, you're much more bold than you first lead on," said Knock Out.

"Says the mech who can't seem to take his optics off me."

Knock Out narrowed his optics at her, "Says the femme who is too helpless to defend herself and got caught!"

Moonracer's mouth dropped open in disbelief. She lost her focus for a moment and Knock Out took this opportunity to release himself from her hold. His servo clamped around her injured arm, but he was careful not to ruin her bandage again.

"Very well, ma chérie," he said, "Ask away."

Moonracer tried to pull away from him, but his grip was stronger than she had anticipated.

She vented in frustration, "Why are you being so… nice? Everyone else on this Primus-forsaken ship has treated me as their enemy. So, unless you're some kind of undercover spy, tell me why you aren't."

Knock Out paused, "When I think of a good reason, I'll let you know."

He let go of her servo in a swift motion and went over to his private storage. Moonracer's brows were bent in a confused V-shape. Knock Out had surprised her all right.

"What do you mean," she asked, "When you think of a good reason? You mean you don't know?"

"You might say that," Knock Out replied. He walked over to where the wires of his monitor were sticking out. It was a complete mess and it would probably take hours for Knock Out to reconfigure the whole thing.

"And what exactly were you working on here?" he asked in frustration.

Moonracer gripped her arm in a nervous manner, "I just figured… I could…"

"Rewire the communications and send out a distress signal?"

Knock Out smirked a little as her optics widened, "Did it occur to you that our communications chief would've detected that signal immediately, blocked it, and traced it back to this room?"

Moonracer looked away, but Knock Out could easily tell that she was blushing from embarrassment. He vented as he stood up to get his needed supplies.

_Honestly,_ he thought, _That was a pretty imbecilic move. _

Her back was still turned to him. Knock Out could sense that she was probably one of those femmes who hated being foolish or wrong about a situation. Idealistically, he should report this incident to someone so an appropriate course of action would be administered. But Knock Out had a better idea.

Her back still turned to him, he said, "How about we make a deal? If you fix the wiring, I won't report you to Lord Megatron. It's nothing personal really, but if my liege discovers that you're more trouble than anything else… well, you know."

Knock Out watched as her shoulders rose as she inhaled. Then she turned around and offered her hand, "Deal."

Knock Out shook it and smirked, "Maybe our little arrangement won't be so bad after all."

The red mech left as quickly as he came in, leaving Moonracer completely puzzled. She remembered some of the stories Arcee had told her about this Knock Out, and how he was always relentless and vile. But the mech preventing her certain death didn't seem like the same one who was infamous for dissecting his victims. In fact, he would seem like any ordinary Cybertronian before the war. And based on his recent behavior, Moonracer had the sense that he liked her a little. She smiled a little as she started to rearrange the wires.

"I'm sorry, Arcee," tears started to well up a little in her optics. She was running out of ideas to escape and find her sister. What scared her to most was that she didn't know what the future would hold, and how long she would survive it.

"I will find a way home."

**Sorry if the ending was a little dry. It took me a little while to figure out how to finish this chapter. But I may go back and reedit it again. **

**So, I guess this could kinda sorta count as their first "fight". Now I can't wait to write the next couple of chapters! I've been running a little dry as of late. If you guys have any ideas or suggestions, feel free to leave a review! I'm totally open to criticism. And another thing, ever since I found out that Knock Out speak a little French in the episode Plus One, I'm going to have him do it a lot more. :) **

**Ma ch****é****rie= My darling **


End file.
